Beringen (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Paul Vandevenne, 67, and Angeline “Angela” Rietjes, 67, celebrated their union with a ceremony at the Berings woonzorgcentrum, a story captured under the headline “Never too old to get married.”
How did Paul and Angela meet in a care home?
Paul and Angela love story developed amid the mundane routine of care homes, where regular sharing of meals, activities, and private conversations form the basis of a friendship. As reported in local media, “they never expected to find each other in a place like this,” which became the key phrase describing the couple and their unexpected and sincere love story. The age factor and the fact that both of them lived at the same care home increased the significance of their romance for colleagues and other patients.
What happened during the symbolic wedding ceremony?
The lovers symbolically celebrated their relationship through a wedding ceremony conducted inside the Berings care center, which was presented by media and organizers as a human-interest story about love regardless of one’s age. Although the indexed articles do not mention the date, the number of guests, or the room where the event took place, they all describe it as a huwelijksceremonie (wedding ceremony). In care centers, such weddings are usually organized by the care providers based on the desire of residents and can be associated with some closure or celebration for family and friends.
Have there been similar elderly weddings in care homes before?
Paul and Angela’s ceremony is not an isolated incident. In late August 2026, Denise Vérité (73) and Jean‑Louis Aznar (67) married in the garden of an Ehpad in Montredon‑Labessonnié, Tarn, France, in a staff‑organized ceremony described with the refrain,“There is no age for loving and marrying”. That couple’s “coup de foudre” reportedly dated back to 2019, and their celebration turned the care home into a theatre of happiness, echoing the tone of the Berings story. A year earlier, in Wicklow, Ireland, Antoinette Coakley married her husband Damien at Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services in what was reported as the first such wedding ceremony at that hospice, highlighting end‑of‑life dignity and the “gift” of a wedding in a care setting. Together, these cases form a pattern: institutions facilitating intimate ceremonies that affirm love, agency and community for older residents.
